Silver Jubilee

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, 5th June our parish is playing host to members of Fr Phil’s family, friends, former parishioners and clergy for a Mass and reception to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a priest.  We were honoured to receive an invitation to make a contribution to this very special celebratory mass by singing hymns as the congregation arrive in St. Mary’s Church. As this is a milestone in the life of Fr. Phil we would appreciate a strong attendance. Pupils who wish to attend are required to arrive no later than 6.40 p.m. presented in their full school uniform. 

Working Group on Policy Formation

School development planning is a collaborative process and preparation of the School Plan must therefore involve consultation with all the partners including parents. Therefore our school has initiated the construction of a Working Group for drafting relevant school policies. Members of the working group will be involved in the following:

·         Draft policies devised by this group

·         Distribute draft to all relevant partners

·         On receipt of amendments, working party will discuss and draw up final draft of policy

·         Communicated policy to BoM for ratification

If you wish to be considered as a representative on this Working Group, please contact the school.

Primary School Catechists

A team of primary school catechists visit every primary school during the school term to gauge and encourage teachers in transmitting the Primary School Catechetics Programme. We are delighted to inform the whole school community that our visit was a huge success and the school was highly commended for the excellent work that we are carrying out to promote the Catholic ethos. Special recognition was given to the following:

• Sacraments Preparation Masses
• School Choir
• Shoe Box Appeal
• GOAL jersey day
• Carol Singing
• Nativity Play
• Emmaus Retreat & Conference Centre
• ‘Catholic Schools Week’

St. Patrick's N.S. pioneer 'Hero in the Hallway' Programme

When it comes to bullying, there is no such thing as an “innocent” bystander. Having an audience is very important to bullies as they want others to see that they have power over the person being bullied in the hope that this will earn them a reputation for being tough or popular. Other children are present about 85% of the time when there is a bully episode in the playground or classroom and while most bystanders feel uncomfortable witnessing bullying, very few actually intervene. If just one person watching a bullying situation steps in and says “Stop it”,the bullying will cease in half the cases within 10 seconds.

Standing by and doing nothing effectively means that you condone the bullying, and are choosing by this tolerance to be just as much of the problem as the bully is. Passive bystanders also risk suffering from anxiety brought on by the shame and guilt often felt for not being able or willing to defend a victim. 

We in St. Patrick’s N.S. are extremely proud to be the first school in Ireland pioneering the ‘Hero in the Hallway’ programme. This programme encourages an atmosphere of kindness, and the importance of doing the right thing. ‘Hero in the Hallway’ puts the emphasis on the bystander and victim rather than the bully. Every Wednesday pupils in our school anonymously report a "Hallway Hero". Pupils have engaged in various activities such as role play, designing posters, surveys etc to aid the reinforcement of the programme. Your child has been taught the many number of things they can do if they witness a bullying situation or if they are aware of one which is ongoing: 

• Don’t join in although the bully will try to make you
• Use your voice to stop the bullying and let the bully know that what they are doing is wrong – say something like “Cut it out”, “That’s not funny”, “How would you like it if someone did that to you?”
• Help the victim by moving towards or next to them or leading them away from the situation altogether
• Walk away and tell a teacher or other adult – telling is not tattling as it is helping someone else, not getting them in trouble
• Encourage other bystanders to walk away as a group
• Befriend the victim and make sure they tell their parents or a teacher and offer to go with them if it will help
• If the victim is reluctant to talk to anyone, offer to talk to someone in authority on their behalf
• Do NOT use violence against bullies to try to get revenge on your own. 

Remember the Golden Rule: stand up for someone when they need it, and when you need it, someone will stand up for you.

Invitation

St. Patrick's N.S. were excited to receive a special invitation from An Taisce to receive our third International Green Flag award. We are looking forward to celebrate this special occassion in May.

Drama Resources

St. Patrick’s N.S. are currently updating our drama resources. We would appreciate donations of any unwanted fancy dress costumes and interesting or unusual props. These can be sent into school via pupils.

Write a Poem Project

Congratulations to our pupils who entered their poetry to a project organised by the Navan Education Centre. The theme was 'School Days - Happy Days'. The poetry focused on the positive aspects of school pupils encounter. Many thanks to Mrs Wall for co-ordinating this project.

Active Schools Week 2013

From 4th- 8th March our pupils will enjoy Active Schools Week. Active Schools Week raises an awareness of the importance of physical activity in our daily lives. Our pupils will participate in physical activities such as:

• Tennis programmes
• Soccer blitz
• GAA training
• Extended PE classes
• Gymnastics
• Active homework
• HulaHoopathon
• Skipping competitions
• Students with particular skills demonstrate for the rest of the school  eg: Irish dancing, martial arts, skateboarding etc.
• Drop Everything and Dance

School Choir

Our school choir will perform on Tuesday, 5^th March at 7p.m in St. Mary’s Church, Ardcath. Second class pupils will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We would appreciate a strong attendance to support these pupils on this special occasion. Choir pupils are welcome at 6.45p.m. wearing their school uniform.

 Happy Bug Busting Day (28^th February 2013).

 Tonight is the night….! Please do take part as a concerted effort like this can make a real impact.

Procedure:

1. Wash hair

2. Apply conditioner copiously

3. Detangle hair with an ordinary comb

4. In the position of sitting upright or leaning over a bowl or sink, comb hair with the special comb.

The teeth of the comb should slot into the hair at the roots with every stroke

5. Clear the lice from the comb after each stroke

6. Dry hair with towel

7. Soak the combs in hot water and dry them under the sun light for 5 – 6 hours

8. Rinse lice away

9. Repeat the procedure every 3 – 4 days for two weeks to catch the lice emerging from the eggs.

Vigil Mass

We thank Fr Phil for inviting our School Choir to perform on Saturday, 23rd February in St. Mary's Church. Many thanks to all the pupils who ventured out despite the flutters of snow! Singing in a choir gives our pupils confidence. It develops an appreciation not only for music but also for teamwork. Musical performances require individuals to sing in harmony as an ensemble or team under the direction of a conductor. Understanding the principles of teamwork and leadership is a valuable lesson in life.

International Children's Art Exhibition 2013

We are pleased to share with you our students who have been selected to be included in this year's International Children’s Art Exhibition:

• Grace Willis ('The Light of Irish Culture')
• Ashling Wearen ('The Light House')
• Sean Dunican ('Titanic')
• Oisin Mason ('Newgrange Winter Solstice').

The show features the artwork of over 200 students from the United States and more than 30 countries around the world. This year, in recognition of the importance of  'illuminate' in all cultures, and the different roles it might play, students were asked to incorporate this into their artwork. The pieces that will be featured in the show were selected by a panel of jurors who were asked to identify those pieces which they believed offered the best insight into the artist’s life and culture in the context of the illuminate theme. The show will be on display at the Maritme Aquarium, Norwalk, CT.

World Book Day 2013

Pupils in St. Patrick's N.S. are looking forward to celebrating World Book Day on 7th March. This year pupils are invited to dress up as book characters.  Having to think about which character they would like to be is a brilliant way of revisiting a favourite book. This initiative allows a whole school to be populated by story book characters puts reading at the heart of everything that happens in the school. 

School Choir

Choir practicing has commenced preparing our pupils to perform at various upcoming religious occassions e.g. First Communion, Confirmation etc. The school choir will also be performing in St. Mary's Church at 7.00pm on 23rd February.  All pupils are invited.

Gardening

5th and 6th class pupils were busy engaging in gardening related activites during the week. Tending to new plants teaches our pupils responsibility and teamwork. It provides an opportunity to bring science, maths, SESE, language and visual arts to life through hands on learning.

Pancake Tuesday

Senior pupils enjoyed a lesson on pancake making leading up to Pancake Tuesday. On Pancake Tuesday they were busy mixing and pouring and providing delicious pancakes for the whole school!

Breaking News!

Today we received a letter from An Taisce informing us that we have successfully been awarded our third Green Flag. The flag will be presented to us in Croke Park at the National Green Schools’ Award Ceremony in March. The Committee, under the direction of Mr O’Mahony provided the energy to drive this project, and their hard work was praised by An Taisce.  Many thanks to the wider community and especially Ms Caroline White  Tuite for her years of dedication to this project.

Friendship Squad

In an effort to make lunchtimes more active and enjoyable for our pupils on the school yard and to ensure that all children have an opportunity to be meaningfully engaged at lunchtime, we set up our 'Friendship Squad'. Our 5th & 6th class pupils have the opportunity to be involved in the day-to-day running of the squad, with our teachers overseeing the management of it. The children apply for a position on the squad and proceed to get involved in some training. We have a wonderful selection of activities and outdoor equipment, which rotates around our different playground areas. The 5th & 6th class pupils wear special red bibs which are easily identifiable and they watch out for any child who may feel lonely on a particular day, or be in need of company.

Active Flag Committee

Our school recently established an Active School Flag Committee. This will act as the working group for the school community.  Nominees from all areas of the school community were invited to form part of the ASF committee. The following is our committee for academic year 2013:

Active Flag

St. Patrick’s  N.S. are delighted to announce that we are attempting to acquire an Active Flag. The Active Flag was launched by the Department of Education in 2009. It is a non-competitive initiative which seeks to recognise schools (both primary and post primary) that strive to achieve a physically active and physically educated school community. In order to be awarded the Active School Flag schools must:

1. Commit to a process of self-evaluation in terms of the PE programmes and physical opportunities that they offer
2. Plan and implement a series of changes that will enhance PE and extracurricular provision and promote physical activity.

This school has a strong tradition of sports and activity and is fully committed to the process of acquiring the flag. The school staff will work hard this year to implement the necessary enhancements and self-evaluation procedures to achieve the goal.

'Grandparents/ Grandfriends Day'

As part of 'Catholic Schools Week' we are extending a warm welcome to grandparents/grandfriends to our school at 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 30th January. This will be a wonderful, memorable experience for all involved. The agenda is as follows:

• Tea/coffee served in the library
• Presentation in a selected classroom.

Plastic Cap Appeal

Our school is launching an appeal for the collection of plastic caps from disused containers. Our aim is to contribute in some way to funding a wheelchair for a relative of one of the parents in our school. There will be a collection point displayed in the school corridor from Monday. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Christmas Eve Mass

We would like to thank Fr Phil for inviting our pupils to sing before mass on Christmas Eve. Congratulations to all the pupils who attended and who sang beautifully. Santa also made an appearance before his journey delivering toys to the children of Ardcath. Nollaig Shona Daoibh!

Blanchardstown Carol Singing

We thank teachers, pupils, and parents/guardians who attended the carol singing in Blanchardstown on Thursday 20th December.  This initiative raised over €350 of much needed school funds.

Thanks to the Parents' Association and Roger Semple for organising this fundraising initiative.

Thanks also to Mrs. Carol Dunican for taking group photo.

 'Beauty and the Beast'

Our whole school attended the pantomime 'Beauty and the Beast' in the Helix Theatre....

'Once upon a time, in faraway panto-land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spolit and selfish. To punish him for his unkindness, he was transformed by an enchantress into a hideous beast; the only way the curse could ever be broken was to learn to love another … will Belle be the girl?'

The festive season wouln't have been complete without a visit to see this show!

Christmas Extravaganza

We would like to thank all who attended the Christmas Extravaganza last night. Thanks to all who helped and participated in the show - pupils, staff, Board of Management, Parents Association, Ardcath Church Senior Choir, P.J. Grendon and the Altar Society. This fundraiser initiative was a great success raising a profit of €1,466 which will go towards works being carried out at the school. Thanks to all who donated raffle prizes - Parents Association, Staff, Mrs Helen Martin, Mrs. Debbie Dunne-Carthy, Mrs. Ann McNally, Mr & Mrs Richard Dunne, Mr. Brian Carberry,  Mrs. Mary Caffrey, Mr. Thomas White, Mrs. Tina Rigley, Mrs. Hazel Semple and Mrs. Hilda O’Brien.

Christmas Card Design

To get into the festive spirit, St. Patrick's N.S.  pupils designed personalised Christmas cards. We thank our Parents' Association for co-ordinating this initiative.

Poster Competition

Congratulations to David Corry who designed a very impressive poster advertising our Chirstmas Extravaganza!

Emmaus Retreat & Conference Centre

Senior pupils recently participated in a one day Confirmation programme in Emmaus Retreat & Conference Centre. Since its foundation Emmaus has been especially attentive to the faith development of young people. Pupils had the opportunity to tap into the excitement and meaning behind the sacrament of Confirmation. This was done in a creative way, using the medium of song, drama, reflection, sharing and mediation.

'Week of Respect' (3rd - 7th December).

Mr O'Mahony launched a 'Week of Respect' in assembly on the 3rd of December. Our 'Week of Respect' highlights the positive behaviours that are encouraged every day at St. Patrick's N.S. Our goal is respecting the many individuals who make up our school community.